What do you think?
Rate this book
The Lyons' Den
This edition is now out of print.
Daniel wanted to get back together with Tad, so he agreed to rewrite eight horrible scripts in time for them to be pitched as a new series for cable. If the network went for it, he'd get a week in Bermuda to rebuild their love. If they didn't, he'd lose the guy forever.
Only thing was, Tad wanted to keep the rewrite super-hush-hush, so he insisted Daniel use his family's empty, isolated cabin in upstate New York to work. Reluctantly, Daniel agreed, but as he was being driven to it, a massive snowstorm blew in ... and that "isolated cabin" wound up the center of mystery, suspense, sex, betrayal, revenge, murder, fist-fights, shredded clothes, frostbite, gunfire, predatory females, an obnoxious caretaker, a hermit who hates everything, an epic snowstorm, a hot shower with people who don't exist, a blazing fireplace, a bizarre shower curtain, off-key TV music, secrets heard in shadows, crooked politicians, romance with the proper stranger, and enough paranoid-schizophrenia to fill a mental institution.
All in the space of two hours on a Friday night.
Daniel wanted to get back together with Tad, so he agreed to rewrite eight horrible scripts in time for them to be pitched as a new series for cable. If the network went for it, he'd get a week in Bermuda to rebuild their love. If they didn't, he'd lose the guy forever.
Only thing was, Tad wanted to keep the rewrite super-hush-hush, so he insisted Daniel use his family's empty, isolated cabin in upstate New York to work. Reluctantly, Daniel agreed, but as he was being driven to it, a massive snowstorm blew in ... and that "isolated cabin" wound up the center of mystery, suspense, sex, betrayal, revenge, murder, fist-fights, shredded clothes, frostbite, gunfire, predatory females, an obnoxious caretaker, a hermit who hates everything, an epic snowstorm, a hot shower with people who don't exist, a blazing fireplace, a bizarre shower curtain, off-key TV music, secrets heard in shadows, crooked politicians, romance with the proper stranger, and enough paranoid-schizophrenia to fill a mental institution.
All in the space of two hours on a Friday night.
244 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2012
4 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Kyle Michel Sullivan
32 books104 followersI am a writer and self-involved artist who’s lived in London and Honolulu, and a dozen places in-between. I’ve also traveled around the world, and some of my artwork has been purchased by collectors.
I used to write screenplays and have won numerous awards for them...despite none being produced. That’s how "A Place of Safety" began life—as an idea for one, twenty-five years ago. But it deepened and expanded and changed direction and became the life of an Irish Catholic boy during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I’m currently working on a gothic horror novel dealing with an ancient tale of harpies that live in the caves of the Cliffs of Moher, on Ireland’s far west coast.
In my writing, I’ve tried to build characters as vivid and real as possible and have a lot of fun doing it...mixed with angst, anger, amazement…and sometimes vicious arguments with the characters in each book. I like to think I’ve done well by them.
My books are available through Amazon, B&N, BAM!, Powell’s Books, and your local independent book shop.
I used to write screenplays and have won numerous awards for them...despite none being produced. That’s how "A Place of Safety" began life—as an idea for one, twenty-five years ago. But it deepened and expanded and changed direction and became the life of an Irish Catholic boy during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. I’m currently working on a gothic horror novel dealing with an ancient tale of harpies that live in the caves of the Cliffs of Moher, on Ireland’s far west coast.
In my writing, I’ve tried to build characters as vivid and real as possible and have a lot of fun doing it...mixed with angst, anger, amazement…and sometimes vicious arguments with the characters in each book. I like to think I’ve done well by them.
My books are available through Amazon, B&N, BAM!, Powell’s Books, and your local independent book shop.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 20, 2019
Okay...the new editions of all my e-books are up and running on www.kmscb.com and the e-books can be bought through https://www.smashwords.com/books/sear.... The e-book for "Bobby Carapisi" is available through www.Amazon.com; www.barnesandnoble.com; and http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eboo....
How To Rape A Straight Guy.
Rape In Holding Cell 6.
Porno Manifesto.
Bobby Carapisi.
The Lyons' Den (my lightest, weirdest, most convoluted book) got a great review on Saguaro Moon Reviews< http://saguaromoonreviews.com/the-lyo... >.
The Vanishing of Owen Taylor (my murder mystery set in Palm Springs)
The Alice '65 (my mainstream rom-com
Underground Guy (my serial-killer/murder mystery set in London)
And if you want something light and sweet, "David Martin" is my fable for all ages -- I have that posted on www.kylemichelsullivan.com.
StarBooks Press also published a novella of mine in their anthology "Boys Will Be Boys, Their Second Time", which is ALSO available through Amazon, B&N, Kobo...hell, anybody and everybody.
How To Rape A Straight Guy.
Rape In Holding Cell 6.
Porno Manifesto.
Bobby Carapisi.
The Lyons' Den (my lightest, weirdest, most convoluted book) got a great review on Saguaro Moon Reviews< http://saguaromoonreviews.com/the-lyo... >.
The Vanishing of Owen Taylor (my murder mystery set in Palm Springs)
The Alice '65 (my mainstream rom-com
Underground Guy (my serial-killer/murder mystery set in London)
And if you want something light and sweet, "David Martin" is my fable for all ages -- I have that posted on www.kylemichelsullivan.com.
StarBooks Press also published a novella of mine in their anthology "Boys Will Be Boys, Their Second Time", which is ALSO available through Amazon, B&N, Kobo...hell, anybody and everybody.
June 25, 2020
OMG....This book is absolutely amazing....I have never read a book that's written like this....Daniel is a writer and the book is in the pov of one of his characters and it is done so brilliantly well....I'm not gonna go into the book deeply as you just need to read it......It really feels like your in the book with Daniel and his thoughts....I.E his book character.....Tad his ex boyfriend I did not like...he is a total arse and I was really hoping that Daniel would not get back with him...Read this book you won't be disappointed....Totally awesome read x
September 25, 2020
I was given a free copy of this book in return for an hones review.
This has to be one of the most unusual books that I have ever read and, once I had got into the full swing of it, I really enjoyed it.
The book is written from the point of view of a fictional detective and, while reading it, I was picturing a private detective from a much earlier period of time. I didn't think that this detective was the brightest star in the sky, but he was the type who would get things done.
You can read from the synopsis of the book that the scene is an isolated cabin in upstate New York. An approaching snow storm is ensuring that Daniel is alone and will, hopefully, be able to rewrite some ghastly scripts in the hope of getting his ex-boyfriend back. Fate has other plans though.
I had theories about what was going on but I was wrong. I'm not going to give anything away but what happens to Daniel in that cabin was sometimes farcical, crazy and really kept me reading. The other characters were crazy, bumbling and perfect.
The Lyons' Den is a really good read and is highly recommended.
This has to be one of the most unusual books that I have ever read and, once I had got into the full swing of it, I really enjoyed it.
The book is written from the point of view of a fictional detective and, while reading it, I was picturing a private detective from a much earlier period of time. I didn't think that this detective was the brightest star in the sky, but he was the type who would get things done.
You can read from the synopsis of the book that the scene is an isolated cabin in upstate New York. An approaching snow storm is ensuring that Daniel is alone and will, hopefully, be able to rewrite some ghastly scripts in the hope of getting his ex-boyfriend back. Fate has other plans though.
I had theories about what was going on but I was wrong. I'm not going to give anything away but what happens to Daniel in that cabin was sometimes farcical, crazy and really kept me reading. The other characters were crazy, bumbling and perfect.
The Lyons' Den is a really good read and is highly recommended.
November 12, 2014
I'm torn between 3.5 and 4 stars for this book; the premise was very interesting (a mystery novel in which a mystery writer's story is narrated by his own character, who also accompanies him and interacts with him throughout the book) and I *adored* our protagonist, Daniel--he's amazingly sympathetic without being pathetic, interesting, and his ruminations on love are very insightful and moving. His devotion to his douchey (and yet, strangely well-fleshed-out and interesting) ex-boyfriend is really sweet and smacked of such truth that it didn't feel like just another strawman romance (you know--MC is pining for an awful ex just so that the new man/woman who is about to enter their life and win/heal their heart will be all the more awesome)--UP until the end, that is....
***MILD SPOILERS BELOW***
...when Tad (the ex) finally shows his hand and turns into this utterly one-dimensional, almost comedically villainous bad-guy character that is so one-note and soulless, I was nearly thrown out of my suspension of disbelief. If not for a novel's worth of strong writing and characterization, that mustache-twirling cartoon villain that Tad behaves like at the end of the story would have had me... well, no, I was too invested in the story and Daniel by this point to stop reading, but I do have to say that the "one-dimensional villain" character writing of a major character was sloppy and unworthy of this book.
Actually, truth be told, some of the minor characters suffered from this one-dimensionality as well. Granted, there was a good reason for them to be pretty stereotypical, but I won't mention it here because that's a MAJOR spoiler. But while I'll buy those characterizations from the various people who show up to cause mayhem for Daniel later in the book, the characterizations of the main charas (Daniel and Tad) were so strong and nuanced in the beginning of the novel that I couldn't buy Tad's end-of-book character.
Same thing for Van--he's just too perfect in every way. I know we don't get to spend too much time with him in a post-cabin setting, but his perfection, along with how utterly perfectly everything works out at the end feels a little... I dunno, self-indulgent? It wasn't that I didn't want Daniel to succeed and be happy and find that warmth and love he so richly deserved, it just... felt too much like an escapist/almost made-up "happy ending." I feel like, with the way the story began and how much there was really left unresolved between Daniel and Tad, and how very, VERY much Tad had to grow as a human being (and Daniel too--NOT going into "servant mode" around Tad would only do the bugger good), the ending we got which managed to dodge most of these issues, was kind of a cop out.
And yes, I do realize I keep whining about Tad (oddly enough, I DID like him despite his many horrible actions and shortcomings--the author's characterization of him in the first half of the novel made him a deeply flawed but amazingly nuanced, interesting, 3-dimensional character for whom SUCH a rich growth arc would've been possible), because story-wise, I feel like the *real* hard work and emotional climax the novel should have undertaken at the three-quarter mark was some crisis event that would cause both Tad and Daniel to reevaluate and change themselves, and hopefully reconcile as wiser, more mutually appreciative lovers (or even just friends). Instead, the book's climax is just the climax of the slapstick action plotline... which wasn't bad, I guess (the reveal was definitely interesting), but because Daniel was dealing with (intentionally) one-dimensional, forgettable/can't-take-them-seriously minor characters in that conflict, rather than the REAL antagonist (Tad), it didn't have the kind of soaring emotional stakes it could've had.
Speaking of emotional stakes--Van is nice, but c'mon, we JUST met him. And all he even did was be attractive-looking and listen to Daniel's tragic history sympathetically. We don't know him well enough to care that much about his possible betrayal, whatever Daniel says. It's a huge difference between the "tell" of Van and the "show" that the first half of the book did with Tad and his honeysuckle anniversary surprise, and the melting-at-Daniel's-lost-puppy-look thing, and so on--you can see for yourself (rather than just being told by Daniel) how precious he was/is to him, and how high the stakes of losing his love forever were.
So, because I'm just rambling at this point, I'll stop myself and let it suffice to say that I started this novel with such relish and high hopes--there was such strong writing, conflict, and characters, it could have been literary GOLD. What we ended up getting was a fun and clever novel with a fairly satisfying conclusion. But it could have been a *devastatingly powerful* novel with a *supremely* satisfying conclusion, and I guess that's where my grumbling comes from. I still loved Daniel and Ace and Carmen and (first-half-of-the-novel)Tad and will remember them for quite some time. But I guess I really wanted just a little bit more...
That said, this was a fantastically written, fun, humorous romp with a neat twist and all the hot guy-on-guy action and romance a girl could ask for, plus a cast of very lovable characters. I know I didn't really touch on Ace and the others, but the affection between Daniel and his imaginary friends is adorable, and just in general, the feeling and knowledge of love among this cast of characters was heart-warming and lovely to read. Despite my grumbles, I really do highly recommend this very enjoyable and well-written book.
***MILD SPOILERS BELOW***
...when Tad (the ex) finally shows his hand and turns into this utterly one-dimensional, almost comedically villainous bad-guy character that is so one-note and soulless, I was nearly thrown out of my suspension of disbelief. If not for a novel's worth of strong writing and characterization, that mustache-twirling cartoon villain that Tad behaves like at the end of the story would have had me... well, no, I was too invested in the story and Daniel by this point to stop reading, but I do have to say that the "one-dimensional villain" character writing of a major character was sloppy and unworthy of this book.
Actually, truth be told, some of the minor characters suffered from this one-dimensionality as well. Granted, there was a good reason for them to be pretty stereotypical, but I won't mention it here because that's a MAJOR spoiler. But while I'll buy those characterizations from the various people who show up to cause mayhem for Daniel later in the book, the characterizations of the main charas (Daniel and Tad) were so strong and nuanced in the beginning of the novel that I couldn't buy Tad's end-of-book character.
Same thing for Van--he's just too perfect in every way. I know we don't get to spend too much time with him in a post-cabin setting, but his perfection, along with how utterly perfectly everything works out at the end feels a little... I dunno, self-indulgent? It wasn't that I didn't want Daniel to succeed and be happy and find that warmth and love he so richly deserved, it just... felt too much like an escapist/almost made-up "happy ending." I feel like, with the way the story began and how much there was really left unresolved between Daniel and Tad, and how very, VERY much Tad had to grow as a human being (and Daniel too--NOT going into "servant mode" around Tad would only do the bugger good), the ending we got which managed to dodge most of these issues, was kind of a cop out.
And yes, I do realize I keep whining about Tad (oddly enough, I DID like him despite his many horrible actions and shortcomings--the author's characterization of him in the first half of the novel made him a deeply flawed but amazingly nuanced, interesting, 3-dimensional character for whom SUCH a rich growth arc would've been possible), because story-wise, I feel like the *real* hard work and emotional climax the novel should have undertaken at the three-quarter mark was some crisis event that would cause both Tad and Daniel to reevaluate and change themselves, and hopefully reconcile as wiser, more mutually appreciative lovers (or even just friends). Instead, the book's climax is just the climax of the slapstick action plotline... which wasn't bad, I guess (the reveal was definitely interesting), but because Daniel was dealing with (intentionally) one-dimensional, forgettable/can't-take-them-seriously minor characters in that conflict, rather than the REAL antagonist (Tad), it didn't have the kind of soaring emotional stakes it could've had.
Speaking of emotional stakes--Van is nice, but c'mon, we JUST met him. And all he even did was be attractive-looking and listen to Daniel's tragic history sympathetically. We don't know him well enough to care that much about his possible betrayal, whatever Daniel says. It's a huge difference between the "tell" of Van and the "show" that the first half of the book did with Tad and his honeysuckle anniversary surprise, and the melting-at-Daniel's-lost-puppy-look thing, and so on--you can see for yourself (rather than just being told by Daniel) how precious he was/is to him, and how high the stakes of losing his love forever were.
So, because I'm just rambling at this point, I'll stop myself and let it suffice to say that I started this novel with such relish and high hopes--there was such strong writing, conflict, and characters, it could have been literary GOLD. What we ended up getting was a fun and clever novel with a fairly satisfying conclusion. But it could have been a *devastatingly powerful* novel with a *supremely* satisfying conclusion, and I guess that's where my grumbling comes from. I still loved Daniel and Ace and Carmen and (first-half-of-the-novel)Tad and will remember them for quite some time. But I guess I really wanted just a little bit more...
That said, this was a fantastically written, fun, humorous romp with a neat twist and all the hot guy-on-guy action and romance a girl could ask for, plus a cast of very lovable characters. I know I didn't really touch on Ace and the others, but the affection between Daniel and his imaginary friends is adorable, and just in general, the feeling and knowledge of love among this cast of characters was heart-warming and lovely to read. Despite my grumbles, I really do highly recommend this very enjoyable and well-written book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2023
This was a really great read. I have to be honest it took me a little bit to not only get into the story, but fully understand the dynamics of what was going on. Once I did finally catch up, the story was a wild and interesting ride. I won’t give any spoilers, but I really thought it was going in a different direction than where we ended up. This is my second read from this author and I loved how it was such a stark difference from the last novel. Look forward to reading more.
November 11, 2024
I am very surprised that I finished this.
It's One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Noises Off: A Play in Three Acts only so much more tedious than that sounds.
It's One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Noises Off: A Play in Three Acts only so much more tedious than that sounds.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews